


everyday words seem to turn into love songs

by bi_lovely



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Confrontation, Cute, Depression, Eliza is a cinnamon roll, F/F, F/M, First of a series, Fluff, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage, Mental Illness, depressed character, eliza is depressed and its not very well addressed, it will be addressed later in the series, maria is done with everyones shit, part of a series, peggy is a bean, wedding fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-20 15:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8253530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bi_lovely/pseuds/bi_lovely
Summary: “I put a roof over his head, I put food on the table, I have always provided for that boy since the day he was born, I have always given him the best of everything, and still he claims that I’m a terrible father,” Henry snarled at Alex and all Alex could think about was John, who was so good and so pure, facing off against this man when he came out. “If he thinks I’m so awful, why does he want me at his ‘wedding’?”“Because he’s a decent person and even though you’ve been horrible to him he understands that you’re still his family!” Alex shouted. “He wants his father there, he wants his brothers and sisters there when he gets married! He wants to feel loved!”





	

**Author's Note:**

> title is from "la vie en rose" by louis Armstrong 
> 
> Aaaaahhhhhh!!!! I've been working on this one for so so long!! I'm so happy it's finally up!

"Eliza! Eliza! Eliza!"

"Alexander Hamilton!" Eliza screamed as she wrenched the door open. "It is one thirty in the fucking morning and I have to be up in six hours to start getting ready for  _ your wedding  _ so you better have a pretty great fucking reason for being on my doorstep!"

"I have to write my wedding vows!" Alex screamed and Eliza noticed now that Lafayette was standing beside him looking overly done with his life.

"You haven't written your wedding vows?! You're getting married in eleven and a half hours! Why haven't you written them yet?!" Eliza threw her arms into the air in exasperation.

"This is what I said," Lafayette yawned.

"That's why I'm here!" Alex yelled.

"But why haven't you done in already?!" Eliza shouted at him angrily.

"Well, it hasn't been for lack of trying, I'll tell you that right now," Alex groaned, pushing past Eliza and striding into her house without invitation.

Eliza rolled her eyes, let Lafayette into the house, closed the door, and followed after Alex. In the living room, Alex flopped down on the sofa with a dramatic huff. Lafayette smiled apologetically at Eliza before curling up in a chair, arms wrapped around himself, and closed his eyes.

"Alex, you need to — "

"Eliza?" a new voice came and Eliza and Alex both looked up as Maria walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "What's going on, babe? Why are you here, Alexander?"

"He has yet to write his wedding vows," Eliza crossed her arms, looking down at him sternly.

Maria sighed, "Doesn't surprise me," she yawned, laying her head down on Eliza's shoulder and closing her eyes.

"Well, it surprises me," Eliza huffed. "You're Alex Hamilton, for god's sake! You're Alexander non- _ fucking _ -stop Hamilton! You write, like, literally all the time! You write like it's going out of style! And you and John have been engaged for a  _ year! _ How is it that you haven't written your wedding vows?! How?!  _ HOW?! _ "

Lafayette opened one eye, "Do you mind? I am trying to sleep."

"I just," Alex sighed, frowning deeply, "I don't know. I mean, I started writing them before I even proposed to him. I thought I was setting myself up for heartbreak, you know? I thought I'd write them and they'd be perfect and then he'd say no and I'd be devastated. But then I asked him and he said yes, he said a  _ million times yes _ , and I have never been happier than I was in that moment. But the vows — oh, the vows. I realized they had to be perfect —  _ better _ than perfect — because this is John, you know what I mean? This is John Laurens, the actual love of my life, the other half of me, my soulmate in a world where the word soulmate is a just a ridiculous idea made up by marketing companies to sell engagement rings and up wedding prices. He's perfect, as far as I'm concerned, with his freckles that cover every inch of him like stars in the night sky, and his eyes that are just so bright and so hopeful all the time, and his hair that he never ever wears down. He does this thing when I'm stressed where he'll just rub little circles into my shoulder and whisper sweet nothings into my ear until I calm down, and when we talk about our future together he gets this look in his eyes like there's no place he'd rather be in the whole world than there with me and it's crazy because that's exactly how I feel about him and I never thought I'd fall in love but more than that I never thought anyone would ever love me enough to want to spend the rest of their life with me... And I — I came home from work last week and he was in a heap on the kitchen floor just — just  _ sobbing _ uncontrollably and I just pulled him into my arms and held onto him and he just cried for hours and when he stopped he told me I was the only one who could help him, the only one who could ever get him through it all, and I never thought I'd be that person for anyone, I never thought that anyone would need me the way John says he does. So I have been trying for over a year to write the perfect vows because John is perfect and I can't give him anything less the best, ever, and especially not on our  _ wedding day _ ."

Eliza, Maria, and Lafayette were all staring at him with their eyes wide and mouths agape, unsure of what to say. 

“Okay,” Eliza said slowly, “okay, so —”

“Okay, so first of all,” Maria crossed her arms and she sounded downright  _ pissed _ , “when you talk about John it sounds like you’re vomiting poetry so you don’t have to worry about it sounding wrong. Second of all, you basically just came up with the perfect vows.”

“What? How?” Alex frowned in confusion. 

“You just rambled on for like  _ five minutes  _ about how you never thought you’d fall in love with anyone until you were with John — thanks, by the way, I’m glad you found our relationship was so fulfilling —”

“And ours,” Eliza cut in.

“ — and how you never thought anyone would want to spend the rest of their life with you.” Maria said matter of factly. “Now write it down and tell him that at the alter.”

“You really think so?” Alex smiled at her. 

“Yes, now leave so I can sleep,” Maria said.

Alex scoffed. 

“Seriously, Hamilton, go cuddle your man,” Eliza said. 

“Oh, I won’t see John until the wedding,” Alex said, standing up. 

“What?” 

“John is staying at Herc’s place and I’m staying with Laf,” Alex said. “You know, night before our wedding and all that.”

“That’s so old fashioned, though,” Eliza frowned. 

“That is what I said,” Lafayette rolled his eyes as he hauled himself to his feet. “And now I am stuck with this one.”

  
“Hey!” Alex shouted, offended. 

“Come along, Alexander,” Lafayette sighed, “I would like to get  _ some  _ sleep tonight — and you should, as well!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Alex rolled his eyes. “Thanks for everything, Eliza, Maria. Sorry for waking you.”

“No you’re not,” Maria scowled. 

“You know me so well,” Alex winked and made to follow Lafayette toward the door but then Eliza shouted, “Wait!”

“NO!” Lafayette and Maria shouted in unison. 

“Let them leave!” Maria exclaimed. 

“I want to go to sleep!” Lafayette cried.

“So do I!” Maria added. 

“Shut up,” Eliza said to them. “Alex!”

“Yeah?” Alex raised his eyebrows. 

“What was John crying about?” Eliza asked. 

“What?” he said. 

“John! You said you came home last week and he was in a heap on the kitchen floor, crying!” Eliza exclaimed. “Why was he crying?” 

“Yeah, what happened to him?” Maria asked, eyes wide. 

“ _ Mon Dieu _ ,” Lafayette frowned. “Is John okay?”

“Oh,” Alex sighed, “that. I’m not so sure I was supposed to mention that but — well — basically all it is is that John is upset his father isn’t going to be at our wedding, and neither are his brothers and sisters.”

“I thought he wasn’t inviting his father,” Eliza looked Alex him curiously. 

“So did I,” Alex nodded. “Until last week, that is. I guess he didn’t want anyone to know because he knew his father would say no or ignore the invitation altogether so he kept it a secret that he invited him. Except Henry Laurens didn’t just ignore the invitation, and he did not simply say no. No, because he had to go and be a douchebag. He sent John a letter all about how he would not be attending our wedding and neither would any of John’s siblings because this lifestyle that we have ‘chosen’ is disgusting and he just can’t support us in any of our endeavours.”

“Well that’s a suitcase full of fucked up,” Maria frowned. 

“Tell me about it,” Alex frowned and he felt tears prickling at the back of his eyes, images from the week before playing like a horrible movie in his mind’s eye. 

“But why would he want his dad to be there?” Eliza asked. 

“Yeah, he’s always told us what a bag of shit his dad is,” Maria frowned. “Why would he want his dad around to ruin his wedding day?”

“Well,” Alex sighed, “I kind of get where he’s coming from. His mother died, you know, so his dad is the only parent he’s got.”

“But you are the same way,” Lafayette pointed out. 

“Yeah, but I don’t really know my dad,” Alex shrugged his shoulders, “I haven’t seen him since I was ten years old. The other thing is that I don’t have any good memories from when I did know him, but John does have good memories of his father — from before high school, anyway. And he has brothers and sisters, and all of them are under eighteen so if Henry Laurens won’t come to the wedding then John doesn’t get to have his father or his siblings at his wedding.”

“Aw,” Eliza frowned. 

“John’s father has been just horrible to him and if it were up to me I’d have John resent him, forget about him, because he’s too good for that man,” Alex sighed. “But it’s not up to me. It’s John’s decision. John says he still loves him, he’s still his father, and I just wish there was something I could do to make him happy.” 

“You don’t know where he lives, huh?” Maria said. 

“No clue,” Alex sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t even know what state he lives in. John said he moved from South Carolina a couple years ago because of business reasons, but he won’t tell me where he moved to — he doesn’t talk about him much.”

“Well, as much as it sucks, it sounds like there’s nothing to be done,” Eliza sighed.

Several moments of heavy silence followed Eliza’s words before Lafayette spoke, high pitched and drawn out, he said, “ _ Well _ .” 

Everyone slowly turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

“Lafayette?” Eliza said. “Do you know something the rest of us don’t?”

“ _ Well  _ —”

“Lafayette!” Alex exclaimed.

“Ugh,” Lafayette huffed, “I was not going to say anything — not even to John, because like you said, he does not like to talk about his father very much — but my company is in a partnership with Henry Laurens’ company.”

“What are you getting at?” Alex furrowed his brows.

Lafayette sighed, “He lives in New York, not far from here in the city. I have been to his apartment — well, it is more like a penthouse — one time for a business dinner.”

“Oh my god!” Alex said. 

“So we could go see him and convince him to go to the wedding!” Eliza said. 

“Let’s go!” Alex said. 

“It is two in the morning!” Lafayette protested. 

“Oh, come on, Laf,” Maria rolled her eyes, “let’s just do it.”

“I thought you were on my side,” Lafayette scoffed. “I thought you wanted to sleep.”

Maria shrugged, “Well, I’m awake now so I might as well do something productive, and I really want to see John happy.”

“Come on! Please, Laf?” Alex pleaded, blinking up at Lafayette with the very best puppy dog eyes that he could muster. 

“Please, please,  _ please? _ ” Eliza said, hopping up and down hopefully. “Really, Laf… For John?”

“This is illegal in some way,” Lafayette huffed, crossing his arms and pouting prominently. “I am sure of it.”

“Is that a yes?” Maria asked. 

Lafayette rolled his eyes, “ _ For John _ .”

“Yes!” Alex whooped, leaping into the air in excitement while Eliza squealed happily and Maria pumped her fist in the air in a triumphant sort of way. “Thank you so much, Laf, I promise you won’t regret this!”

“Oh, I am sure that I will,” Lafayette groaned as his three friends were pushing him out the front door toward his car. 

***

The apartment building really could have done with a new nighttime doorman as the one who was working when Alex, Lafayette, Eliza, and Maria showed up let them in without much questioning. 

The four of them ended up standing in the elevator with a middle aged man, headed toward the very top floor, at a little past two thirty in the morning. God knows where that man had been or why he was coming home so late but he looked terribly overworked and exhausted and boy what a sight the four people standing beside him in the elevator must have been — Alex, with his wrinkled shirt and jeans that had an all too prominent coffee stain on the thigh, bouncing up and down anxiously on the balls of his feet; Lafayette, dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, leaning against the wall of the elevator with his arms crossed tightly across his chest and his eyes shut; Eliza in polka dot pajamas with a baby blue bathrobe thrown over them and Uggs boots, looking absolutely giddy with a tremendous grin plastered across her face; and Maria in her deep red, loose fitted shirt and leggings, smiling at Eliza and then at Alex and then back again. 

The man, looking rather shaken, departed the elevator on the seventh floor while Alex, Lafayette, Eliza, and Maria rode it all the way up to the sixteenth floor where they stepped out and found they were in a small hallway with only one door. 

“Does — does Henry Laurens own this whole floor?” Maria said. 

“Yes,” Lafayette sighed, “this is his penthouse.”

“Oh, my,” Eliza squeaked. 

Alex was staring at the door, looking a little queasy, definitely a little, like he was trying very hard not to empty the contents of his stomach onto John’s father’s doorstep. 

“Alex? You ready, or — ?” Eliza asked.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Alex shook his head, taking a small step back toward the elevator. “I don’t think I can — we should go — have to get up early to get ready for the wedding, you know —”

“Oh, no!” Lafayette exclaimed. “You made me feel guilty about John, you made me come here in the middle of the night, you  _ deprived me of sleep _ , so now you are going to speak to this man!” And with that, Lafayette knocked forcefully, several times on the door while Alex watched in horror and Eliza and Maria looked back and forth from Lafayette to Alexander, unsure of what to think. 

“Oh, god, what have you done?” Alex hissed. 

Lafayette didn’t answer, only crossing his arms across his chest, but he did look deeply concerned about what would happen next. 

Alex look absolutely petrified when the door swung open and Lafayette, Eliza, and Maria actually took a few steps back, distancing themselves from the angry man who now stood in the doorway. 

“Who the  _ hell  _ are you?!” Henry Laurens spat in Alex’s face. “Do you know what time it is?! It is  _ quarter to three in the morning!  _ What reason could you possibly have for being on my doorstep at such an hour?!”

“Um — well — uh —  _ sir _ ,” Alex stammered, but then he stopped himself and reminded himself who this man was. This was Henry Laurens, the man who had hurt John over and over again,  _ his  _ John. He stood up a little straighter, puffing out his chest and balling his fists at his side. “Henry Laurens, I am Alexander Hamilton.”

Henry stared back at him for several seconds and Alex (as well as his three friends who were watching the tenuous exchange with bated breath) was sure that the man was about to drop dead out of shock or something of that sort. 

Instead Henry finally spoke and he said, “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Alex huffed because  _ god,  _ he couldn’t even remember his own son’s fiance’s  _ name _ ? 

“Alexander Hamilton,” he said again, firmly. “My name is Alexander Hamilton and in just over ten hours I’m going to marry your son.”

Henry blinked and this time Alex was  _ sure  _ he was going to have a heart attack or something. Instead he stepped back, “Go away,” he said and made to slam the door in Alex’s face. 

But Alexander Hamilton didn’t give up so easily and he jammed his foot in the way of the door. Henry looked down at Alex’s foot that was preventing the door from being shut, then looked up at his face with raised eyebrows. 

“I’m not leaving here until we’ve had a talk,” Alex hissed at him. 

Henry scowled at him. “I could call the police.”

“Trust me when I say you want to hear what I have to say,” Alex said. 

Henry’s scowl intensified but he slowly opened the door. “Come in, then. But tell your  _ friends  _ to wait out there.”

“But —” Eliza began. 

“Can’t we just —” Maria frowned. 

“Don’t make us wait out here!” Eliza exclaimed.

Lafayette scoffed, “Laurens, we  _ work together  _ —”

“Yes, Marquis, we do,” Henry nodded. “And if this is the type of people you choose to associate yourself with then I’m not so sure how long our partnership will last.” 

Lafayette scowled at Henry as Alex disappeared into the penthouse and Henry closed the door behind the two of them. Henry led Alex into the kitchen, he did not invite him to make himself comfortable at the table, he just crossed his arms and stared him down. 

“Well? What is it that’s so important you had to come speak with me before three in the morning?” Henry snapped.

Alex felt himself getting nervous again, but he shook his nerves away quickly. “I think it’s pretty obvious. You need to come to the wedding.”

Henry scowled at Alex. “If you think there’s any way I’m coming to watch you and my son all dressed up, prancing around and calling it a wedding then you’ve got another thing coming, boy.”

Alex didn’t back down. “He’s your son.”

“He’s a disgrace, is what he is,” Henry spat. “He is no son of mine. I won’t be attending your so-called ‘wedding’, Mr. Hamilton, now get out of here before I call the police.”

“You can’t just decide he’s not your son,” Alex protested. “He’s your flesh and blood. You brought him into this world and it’s your responsibility, as his father, to give him the best. You should want him to be happy.”

“I put a roof over his head, I put food on the table, I have always provided for that boy since the day he was born, I have always given him the best of everything, and still he claims that I’m a terrible father,” Henry snarled at Alex and all Alex could think about was John, who was so good and so pure, facing off against this man when he came out. “If he thinks I’m so awful, why does he want me at his ‘wedding’?”

“Because he’s a decent person and even though you’ve been  _ horrible  _ to him he understands that you’re still his family!” Alex shouted. “He wants his father there, he wants his brothers and sisters there when he gets married! He wants to feel  _ loved! _ ”

“Oh, I’m sure he does want his siblings there,” Henry shook his head, “so he can corrupt them and rip them away from me as well.”

“This is why he says you’re horrible!” Alex exclaimed. “You have disrespected him through all of this! Do you think it was easy for him to tell you he’s gay? Because I remember the day he called me after he told you, I remember him flying back to New York in the middle of the summer and staying with me, he came to stay with me because you know what? While you’ve been busy kicking him out of your life, while you’ve only been concerned with ridding yourself of him, I’ve been there for him. I’ve been at his side every step of the way, I have loved him and I have cared for him and I have never let him go a day without telling him how much he means to me because I never want him to feel as unimportant as he does when he’s around you, do you understand me? Because he  _ is  _ important. So for one day —  _ one day  _ — put aside whatever problems you have with our relationship, put aside whatever problems you have with your son’s sexuality. Just one day. And for one day, I’ll forget the fact that you kicked him out of his own home when he came out and I’ll forget that you punched him when he showed up to his own mother’s funeral —”

“John has chosen a life of sin!” Henry yelled. “He broke his mother’s heart and still had the  _ audacity  _ to show up at her funeral!”   
  


“ _ She was his mother! _ ” Alex yelled. 

“She was disgusted by him!” Henry snarled. 

Alex frowned and stared at the man before him for several seconds before sighing heavily. “Listen,” he said, his voice strained with the effort to remain calm, “I want you at my wedding about as much as you want to be there. I want you there about as much as I want my own father there — I don’t want him there, by the way, and he won’t be there. But I would do anything to make John happy.  _ Anything.  _ And if  _ anything  _ means showing up at your door in the middle of the night and telling you to come to our wedding which is in ten hours, now, then it is what it fucking is.”

Henry opened his mouth, probably to tell Alex to get out of the penthouse, but before he got a chance to speak someone walked into the room and spoke first.

“Dad?” she said and Alex looked up to see a girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, with a tremendous resemblance to John. “What’s going on?” she asked her father. “Who’s this?”

“He knows your  _ brother _ ,” Henry said and Alex scowled at him when he avoided saying John’s name, “and he was just about to leave.”

“You know John?” the girl asked. 

“Yes,” Alex nodded. “I know him very well.”

“Are you his boyfriend?” the girl asked. 

“Now wait just one minute —” Henry began. 

“Yes,” Alex cut him off quickly, avoiding looking at Henry Laurens and looking directly at the teenage girl standing in the middle of the kitchen. “Well, actually, no. I’m not his boyfriend, I’m his fiance.” 

“John’s getting  _ married?! _ ” the girl looked to her father, astonished. 

Henry was staring angrily from his daughter to Alex and back again, absolutely speechless. 

“You didn’t even tell John’s siblings that their eldest brother is getting married? And that they were invited to the wedding?” Alex raised his eyebrows. 

“We’re invited to the wedding?!  _ Really?! _ ” the girl exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “When is it?!”

“You’re not going,” Henry said sternly, then, glaring at Alex, he added, “ _ None of us  _ are going.”

Alex just stared back at him with a little smirk tugging at his lips because now, with one of John’s sisters in the room, he felt like he just might have a chance at getting Henry to attend the wedding.

“Why not?” the girl’s face fell. “I want to go!” she turned to Alex and asked, “When’s the wedding?”

Alex smiled at her, “The wedding is in ten hours.”

Her eyes grew wide and she glared at her father. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?!” she cried angrily. 

“Watch your tone with me, young lady!” Henry snapped. “I didn’t tell you because it doesn’t make any difference to you! You are  _ not  _ going!”

“But I want to! It’s John!” she yelled. 

“He is a  _ homosexu _ —” 

“Yeah, I know, he’s gay!” she rolled her eyes. “I don’t care if he’s gay, okay?! I know you do, but I don’t!” 

Alex smiled at the girl again, “What’s your name?”

She looked away from her father and smiled up at Alex. “Martha,” she answered, extending a hand which Alex shook. “What’s yours?”

  
“Alexander Hamilton,” Alex said. “It’s nice to finally meet at least one of John’s siblings.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Martha beamed. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Henry hissed. “Get out. Get out  _ now _ .”

“Dad, I miss John,” Martha pleaded, “and so do Jemmy and Junior. Even Mary Eleanor misses him and she was so little when he left for college.  _ Please,  _ Dad.”

“No,” Henry said sharply and turned back to Alex. “I’m serious, now. Get out.”

“Fine,” Alex said, arms crossed and eyebrows raised in exasperation with this absolutely ludicrous man. “I’ve done all I can. I’ve said all I needed to say. But if you do change your mind — and I really do think that you should — then just remember John and I are getting married at one in the afternoon in the chapel in upstate New York. Goodnight.” He turned to John’s sister, said, “Bye, Martha, it was very nice meeting you. I hope I see you around sometime,” and with that he turned from the dirty look he was receiving from Henry Laurens, turned from John’s teenage sister. He left the penthouse and was immediately bombarded with questions from his three friends who were eagerly awaiting his return.

“So what went down?”

“Yeah, what happened in there?”

“Is he coming to the wedding or what?”

“Was he very angry? Am I losing a valuable business ally?”

“Did he talk shit about John? Because I will beat his ass.”

“Alex! What’d he say?!”

“Well, if you’d all give me a second to breathe then I’d tell you,” Alex huffed.

Lafayette, Eliza, and Maria went silent instantly and eagerly awaited Alex’s story of his conversation with John’s father. 

Alex gestured for them to follow him into the elevator, so they did, and once they were inside with the doors closed behind them he leapt into the tale of everything Henry had said about John choosing a lifestyle of sin and him disappointing his mother — broke her heart, even. He told them how he responded to each accusation and how John’s sister Martha showed up midway through their conversation. 

“That. Bitch.” Maria growled when Alex was finished with his story, by which time they were all climbing back into Lafayette’s car.

“I call shotgun!” Eliza yelped and hopped into the passenger’s seat. “Sorry, not the time. Henry Laurens is a dick.”

Alex and Maria rolled their eyes as they crawled into the backseat. 

“Yeah, he is,” Alex sighed as he buckled his seatbelt. “And I don’t think he’ll come to the wedding. It sucks because Martha really seemed to want to come. I don’t think she cares that John is gay at all.”

“Well it’s good that she’s escaped Henry Laurens’ attempts at brainwashing his children,” Maria yawned, curling up in seat, hugging her knees to her chest. “I hope the others get that lucky.”

“Yeah, me too,” Alex sighed and Eliza nodded slowly. 

“I just cannot believe that I could have been sleeping all this time and Henry Laurens still is not coming to the wedding,” Lafayette sighed heavily as he put the car into drive and headed off toward the city. 

“Shut up,” Alex mumbled, hugging his knees to his chest like Maria and closing his eyes. “At least I tried.”

“You’re right, Alex, good job,” Eliza smiled back at him but he was already drifting off to sleep. She smiled warmly at him. “I’m so glad he and John found each other. They’ve both had such tough pasts and it’s so nice that they can be happy now.”

“Yes,” Lafayette agreed and when he stopped the car at a red light he glanced over his shoulder at Maria who was, like Alex, fast asleep. “Sort of like you and Miss Maria Reynolds.”

“Yeah,” Eliza sighed, checking over her shoulder to make sure her girlfriend really was asleep, “Maria’s had a tough time, with her ex-husband and childhood and all.”

“I was not referring to Maria alone,” Lafayette raised his eyebrows, glancing at her once before driving forward through the now green street light. 

Eliza looked away from Lafayette. “I had a great childhood, Laf. My family has money, I have never wanted for anything. I have always been in good relationships.”

“I think our dear John proves that just because one has money, that does not mean they are happy,” Lafayette said. 

“John is different,” Eliza shook her head. “His family was horrible to him. My parents are wonderful, my sisters are wonderful. They love me and supported me fully when I came out.”

“That still does not mean you have an obligation to be happy,” Lafayette said gently.

“I know,” Eliza replied softly. “I don’t want to talk about it. When I told you about all of that crap I also told you that I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know,” Lafayette said, “and I’m sorry. But I worry about you. I think you should talk to a therapist.”

“I’m  _ fine _ , Laf,” Eliza insisted but Lafayette looked unconvinced. “Really, I am. It’s all in my past.”

“Depression is not something to mess around with,” Lafayette frowned. “It is certainly not something that you should be suppressing, pushing aside. I want to be sure that you are okay.”

“I am,” Eliza nodded. “I get that you’re worried and I’m so happy to know what a great friend you are, but I really am fine. Look, I really don’t want to talk about this right now. Alex and John are getting married today and I don’t want to be sad at a wedding.”

Lafayette sighed, “Okay. Perhaps we can talk about this some other time.”

Eliza stared out the window, “We’ll see.”

“Do you think Alexander and John will like the song we chose for them?” Lafayette asked, and Eliza was grateful for the change of subject. “For their first dance as husbands?”   
  


Eliza turned and grinned at him. “I know they will.”

***

Lafayette, Eliza, and Maria all ended up sleeping a little later than they’d planned to and ended up with about four hours of sleep. Alex, on the other hand, did not go straight to bed when he arrived back at Lafayette’s apartment — instead, he picked up a pen and paper and began writing. 

Alex finally went to bed around seven in the morning and woke up an hour later to find three lovely text messages on his phone. 

_ From MyDearLaurens: Today’s the day!!  _

__ _ From MyDearLaurens: I miss you<3 _

__ _ From MyDearLaurens: Love you more than anything, baby girl. See you soon :) _

Alex grinned, and in typical Alexander Hamilton fashion, he shot back a paragraph about how much he missed John, how much he wanted to hold him and kiss him again though they hadn’t even been parted for twenty four hours. He told him how important he was to him, how much he loved him, and how only once they were married would Alex truly be satisfied. And sure, he went a little further overboard than he usually would because of all the things Henry Laurens had said to him the night before about John — his beautiful, beautiful,  _ beautiful  _ John — but John didn’t seem to mind in the least bit. 

_ From MyDearLaurens: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 I love you so much _

__ _ From MyDearLaurens: I can’t wait for you to be my husband. I can’t wait to be yours. _

__ _ From MyDearLaurens: But you know you’ll never be satisfied ;) _

__ Alex chuckled, but then he shook himself and set his phone down, ready to focus. “Okay. This is it. The single most important day of my entire life.  _ Lafayette! _ ” 

“I am in the kitchen!” 

Alex hurried to the kitchen to find Lafayette standing at the stove over a hot skillet. “What are you doing? I’m getting married in less than five hours. We need to get ready! We need to be at the chapel before anyone else in case Henry Laurens decides to show up — even though that’s so not going to happen. We need to make sure Hercules doesn’t freak out and disappear before he can marry me and John. We need to get  _ dressed _ . Aren’t we picking up Peggy, too? And we need to get in touch with Angelica so she can make sure Jefferson doesn’t wear that fucking ugly tie!”

“Yes, we do need to do a lot of things,” Lafayette agreed, scooping eggs and bacon onto three plates. “But first you need to calm down and eat some food.” He set the food down on the kitchen table and pierced Alex with a stern look until he sat down and started shoveling his breakfast into his mouth. 

“I’m really freaking out, Laf,” Alex said through a mouthful of bacon. 

“We do not need to worry about going to get Peggy, she will be here in a few minutes,” Lafayette said and sat down to eat his own food. 

“Yeah, but —”

“I already spoke with Hercules on the phone this morning,” Lafayette said. “He is fine. He says he is ready to pronounce you and John as husbands.”

“Okay, but —” 

“I texted Angelica and she said she hid the ugly tie over a week ago so that Thomas will not be able to wear it,” Lafayette said. 

“But —”

“And Eliza is arriving early at the chapel and will update me on any unexpected arrivals. You do not need to go and stake out on your wedding day to wait and see if John’s family decides to attend,” Lafayette huffed with a tone of finality. “Please, Alexander, calm down. This is your wedding day, you are supposed to be happy.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed heavily, taking a bite of scrambled eggs. “I’m just so worried something’s going to go wrong.”

“I was worried on my wedding day, as well,” Lafayette nodded. “It is normal.”

“Laf, you left Adrienne at the alter,” Alex scowled at his friend. “That’s a terrible example.”

“Yes, well,” Lafayette said slowly, but apparently didn’t have anything else to say. 

“I’m here!” Peggy’s voice rang through the apartment and she walked into the kitchen. She looked very nice in a pale yellow sundress with mismatched accessories that she made work somehow and her hair pulled into a half-up half-down do — not that Alex noticed this or anything as he was busy stressing out. Peggy sat down beside Lafayette who leaned in and kissed her. 

“ _ Bonjour, mon amour, _ ” Lafayette cooed. 

“Good morning to you, too,” Peggy smiled. “How are you, Alex? Nervous?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded. 

“Don’t be,” Peggy shook her head. “You and John are, like, the perfect couple. I don’t think there’s anyone who looks at anyone the way John looks at you when he thinks you can’t see him.”

“I beg to differ,” Lafayette mumbled. 

Peggy rolled her eyes and looked at her boyfriend with an exasperated smile. “ _ Je t’aime _ .”

Lafayette perked up at that. “You have been practicing.”

“Yep,” Peggy nodded. “Listen, Alex, I heard about your little midnight escapade and the way I see it, if John’s father doesn’t show up because he’s just that much of a dick then yeah, that really sucks and John’s going to be upset, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Yeah, but still,” Alex frowned. “I want to make John happy. All the time.”

“I know,” Peggy sighed, “but honey, sometimes that’s just not how life works.”

“I know,” Alex sighed. 

“Come on, cheer up!” Lafayette exclaimed. “It is you wedding day, after all! Come along, we are going to get dressed!” 

Alex sighed again, “Yeah, okay.”

So Lafayette guided Alex to the bathroom where he’d set out Alex’s suit, tie, and shoes and told him that he didn’t want to see him until he was fully dressed. 

Alex took a while to get dressed. He took so long, in fact, that when he emerged and walked into the living room Lafayette was dressed in his own suit, hair pulled back, and Peggy was applying some mascara to his lashes. 

“I like it,” Alex said.

“Thank you,” Lafayette grinned. 

Peggy finished Lafayette’s bottom lashes in a well practiced swoop then turned to see Alex, beaming, “Well, don’t you look snazzy. You clean up well, Alex.”

“Thanks Peggy,” Alex smiled. 

“Still nervous, though,” Peggy said and it wasn’t a question. 

“Yeah,” Alex nodded. 

“Don’t you worry, just give me a minute,” she said, turning back to her boyfriend and swiping eyeliner across his waterline. 

“Am I beautiful?” Lafayette smiled. 

“Always,  _ mon cher _ ,” Peggy smiled back, kissing his lips lovingly. “Okay, Alex, come on over!”

“I don’t wear makeup, you know,” Alex said but he walked over and sat down in front of Peggy anyway. 

“I know but you’re also not getting married with your hair looking like a bird’s nest,” Peggy raised her eyebrows, gesturing for him to turn so that he was sitting with his back to her and she waited with a stern look until he did so. “You think John will be upset if his father doesn’t show up, try showing up looking like that and see how he reacts.”

“Oh, Pegs, you know as well as I do that Alexander could arrive at the chapel today in his pajamas and John would think him the most beautiful man in the world,” Lafayette chuckled while Peggy set to work brushing out Alexander’s snarls. 

“Well, true,” she laughed and grabbed her hair gel, squirting a small amount into Alex’s hair and gathering the dark locks into a neat ponytail, tying it into place. “There! You’ve got your suit, your fancy new shoes, your hair looks absolutely incredible — you’re ready to get married!”

“Should we head out?” Alex asked. 

“Yes,” Lafayette nodded and the three of them got to their feet. “Are you ready, Alexander?”

“No,” Alex shook his head, then smiled. “Except I am. I can’t wait to be married to him, Laf.”

Lafayette smiled. “I know.”

“We all know,” Peggy rolled her eyes. “You and John are pretty much obsessed with each other. Can we go now?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded slowly, “yeah, let’s go.”

***

“I’m here,” Alex said, staring at the chapel. “I’m really here. I’m really getting married.”

“Yes,  _ mon ami, _ ” Lafayette smiled, laying a gentle hand on Alex’s shoulder. “You are ready, Alex. You and John are...perfect. There is no other way to say it.”

Alex smiled. “I know.” 

Peggy pulled Alex into a tight hug. “You have your vows, right? Where are they? In your pocket?” 

“I’ve got them right here,” Alex said, pointing to his head. 

Peggy smiled. “Of course. How could I have expected anything less? You always did have a flare for the dramatic. Okay, how long have you been memorizing them, then?”   
  


“Oh, I just put them together late last night,” Alex said, shrugging his shoulders. “Well, actually, early this morning. It was around, like, four in the morning.”

“Right,” Peggy said slowly, looking nervous. “I’m going to find a seat. Angelica’s waiting for me. Er — good luck in there,” she smiled at Alex one last time, gave Lafayette a quick kiss, then hurried into the chapel.

“Okay, you should go wait with Eliza now,” Lafayette said. “She said she is waiting in the room to the right, just inside the chapel. John will be arriving any minute.”

“Right, okay,” Alex nodded slowly, then he smiled. “I’m ready, Laf. I think I’m really ready to do this.”

Lafayette laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Good. I will see you in a little while.”

Alex nodded and he stepped forward, pushed the chapel doors open. The second set of doors that stood before him led to the chapel hall, where he would be marrying John in just a little while, and were open just a crack. Inside he saw rows of people, sat together and waiting for John to walk down the aisle and then, soon after, Alex himself. He could see Hercules standing at the head of the hall looking nervous and sweaty, but at least he was there. 

Alex turned, then, to the door on his right and walked into the room to find Eliza. Her expression broke into a huge grin when her gaze fell on Alex.

“You’re never going to believe what happened!” Eliza exclaimed excitedly, running at Alex and hugging him. “You’re seriously never going to believe it! Oh my god, it’s  _ so great! _ ”

“Are you going to tell me what it is?” Alex raised his eyebrows. 

“Oh, right! Sorry!” she said. “John’s family showed up!”

“ _ WHAT?! _ ” Alex bellowed, eyes wide. “NO WAY!”

“See? I told you you wouldn’t believe me!” Eliza’s grin grew impossibly wider. “But yeah, they’re here! I guess John’s sister — the oldest one, Martha I think she said her name was — stayed up practically all night yelling at Henry Laurens after you left, brought John’s mom into the argument, said no matter what she said about John being gay she would  _ never  _ miss her son’s wedding. She told me she didn’t even think it would work, she thought she’d just end up grounded for a month but she  _ convinced him _ . They’re here, Alex, all of them. There’s a little girl, she’s only seven or eight, and two boys.”

Alex found himself blinking back tears. “Oh my god, John’s going to be so happy.”

Eliza hugged him tightly. “He is! Oh my god, this is going to be so great. Do you have your vows memorized or written down? Please tell me you did write them.”

“Yes, yes, they’re all in my head,” Alex nodded. 

“Okay,” Eliza grinned again. 

Music began playing out in the chapel hall. 

“That’s Lafayette, then,” Eliza said, “walking John down the aisle. We’ll be there in a minute… Are you ready?”

Alex smiled, “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Eliza nodded, matching his smile. “Then let’s go.” She moved toward the door, but then stopped, turned, and pulled Alex into yet another hug. “I’m so happy for you. You and John. I’m so glad you found each other.”

Alex chuckled, “Thanks, Liz,” he said and he pulled himself out of the hug to find that she was blinking back tears. “Come on, don’t cry now. You’ve still got to make it through the ceremony and we’ve got to take pictures  _ and  _ you have to make a speech later.”

Eliza sniffed. “I know,” she nodded, “I know. I’ll be fine. Let’s go, okay?”

Alex nodded, looking at her worriedly, but he shook the idea that something might be wrong with Eliza from his head. He couldn’t worry about that right now, he needed to make sure everything went perfectly for John today.

So they walked to the grand double doors that led into the chapel hall and Eliza peeked inside, then looked back at Alex and nodded. “Let’s get you married, Alexander Hamilton.”

“Let’s do it,” Alex nodded. He linked his arm with Eliza’s and they pushed the doors open. 

As the two of them strode down the aisle, arm in arm, Alex could see it — why people always told them they were a good couple when they were together. He could see why people said they looked good together, they fit together like puzzle pieces. He could even see why people were so shocked and even a little upset when Alex and Eliza announced that they’d broken up even though they only dated for about a year. They  _ did  _ look good together, there was no denying it.

But Alex’s eyes found John, standing at the head of the chapel hall with Hercules and Lafayette, and his heart just melted. He and John didn’t just look good together, they looked right at home whenever they were beside one another. Whenever they touched they looked like they just belonged. They didn’t fit together like puzzle pieces, they were one, they were two halves of a whole that had been searching for each other for years and when they found each other they just fused into this — Alex didn’t even know what it was. They were two sides of the same coin, perhaps — but no that wasn’t enough because they were even more than that. 

Alex, who was always so good with words, whose whole life was all about finding the right words, couldn’t ever find the ones he needed to tell John how he felt about him. But he hoped that his vows would come close.

When Alex came out of his trance as he came closer and closer to John he registered that there was something off about the look on John’s face. He was pale, wringing his hands together nervously, and for a second as Alex stepped up to him and looked into his eyes he had the horrible idea that maybe John was having second thoughts about this whole matter. 

“Alex,” John hissed, quiet enough that only Alex and probably Hercules could hear him. “Alex, look.  _ Look, _ ” he said, eyes darting to the front row where Henry Laurens and John’s four siblings sat. 

Alex noted that Henry Laurens looked  _ extremely  _ pissed off, but Martha and her three younger siblings all looked excited and were grinning happily up at John. 

“Alex, my family is here,” John whispered. “My  _ dad _ is here. After everything he said to me, after the letter… How can they be here?”

Alex smiled at him, “You were so upset,” he said softly. “You cried for so long because you just wanted him to be here, wanted your brothers and sisters to be here. I had to do  _ something _ .”

“You — you made this happen?” John said breathlessly. “For me?”

“Yeah,” Alex grinned, “for you. I would do anything for you.”

“But — how?” John whispered. 

“Oh, I understand it’s a riveting tale from what Laf has told me,” Hercules hissed at the two of them, “but don’t you think we could talk about it later? Because right now we’re kind of — you know —” he gestured to the rows of people looking up at Alex and John expectantly. 

“Oh, right,” Alex nodded. “Go ahead, then, Hercules.”

“Thank you,” Hercules nodded, and opened his mouth to speak — except no words came out. He just stood there, mouth hanging open, dabbing at the sweat dripping down his forehead and searching for the right words to begin with. 

“ _ We are gathered here today, _ ” Alex hissed at him. 

“Yes! Thank you! We are gathered here today,” Hercules said, “to marry these two souls and send them off on this crazy thing called life together.”

“You’re trying too hard, man,” John whispered. 

“Yeah, rough start,” Alex added. “Stop trying to be deep.”

“Would you two shut up and let me do my job!” Hercules bellowed, earning several raised eyebrows and odd looks from around the room. 

Angelica, Peggy, and Thomas were huddled together and visibly trying to contain their laughter. George Washington, Aaron Burr, and James Madison all had their mouths hanging open in disbelief. Maria had her face in her hands. John’s brothers and sisters were giggling while his father was glaring up at Hercules, John, and Alex. Lafayette and Eliza, who were standing opposite one another, exchanged worried looks. 

“Anyway, where were we?” Hercules said. “Ah! The rings!”

Lafayette and Eliza both hurried forward with the rings. Eliza placed John’s wedding band in Alex’s hand at the same time Lafayette placed Alex’s in John’s open palm and then they hurried back to their places. 

“John, you may now place Alex’s ring on his finger and present him with your vows,” Hercules said. 

“Alexander,” John said and his voice was shaking. He slid the ring carefully onto Alex’s finger then looked into his eyes, “I — I wrote you the perfect vows months ago. Or, at least, I thought they were perfect until I picked them up and read them last night and realized what complete and utter crap they are and I know that your vows to me will be some sort of — some sort of perfect poetry or something that’ll make me cry,” he smiled and Alex laughed, “so I just won’t bother with the flowery words. I’ll leave that to you, because it’s really your thing. I’ll just stick with what I know, and what I know is this; I love you. And maybe that sounds stupid because it’s our wedding day so I don’t really need to say it, do I? Except I do. I have to tell you that I love you every chance I get because I —” he paused, dared to glance over his shoulder at his father who was still looking exasperated and pissed off at the whole idea of this wedding that he couldn’t take seriously. John looked back to Alexander, took a deep breath, “ — because everything I was told growing up taught me that I can’t love you. Everything I was told growing up taught me that I could never love you because it’s wrong and unnatural but then you just came along and blew all of that away and I — thank you. I just want to say that I love you and...thank you so much, Alexander.”

“Oh, John,” Alex breathed, “you perfect, perfect man.”

John blushed. 

Alex couldn’t imagine what Henry Laurens’s face must look like after John’s vows, and he didn’t want to find out so he looked pointedly away from the people gathered in the chapel hall and just gazed into John’s face as Hercules said, “Alex, you may now present John with his ring and your vows.”

Alex nodded slowly and didn’t say anything at first. He stared down at John’s hands as he slid the wedding band that Eliza had placed in his palm onto the fourth finger of John’s left hand, admired the way it practically glowed against his skin, then he looked into his face and just smiled. 

“Any day now, Hamilton,” Eliza teased and several people in the hall chuckled. 

Alex drew in a deep breath. “Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you. I shall only tell you that until you bade me Adieu and left me for those nightmarish weeks of the first summer since our first meeting, I hardly knew the value you had taught my heart to set upon you. Indeed, my friend, it was not well done. You know the opinion I entertain of mankind, and how much it is my desire to preserve myself free from particular attachments, and to keep my happiness independent on the caprice of others. You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent. But as you have done it and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed, on condition that for my sake, if not for your own, you will always continue to merit the partiality, which you have so artfully instilled into me.”

John stared at Alex with this look in his eyes like he was the only person in the whole world and breathed out a raspy, “ _ Wow. _ ”

Around the hall, many people were staring at Alex with their mouths hanging open (some in wonder, some in puzzlement, and others in exasperation). 

“I was told recently that when I talk about you, John, it’s like I’m vomiting poetry,” Alex said and Maria smirked. “I’m okay with that. Basically what I’m trying to say is that I like you a lot,” he grinned and John laughed. “I don’t like many people, I’m not a people person as I’m sure anyone here would agree. But I know what to say around you. I know how to be myself around you and I think you’re quite possibly the only person in the whole wide world that truly wants me, all of me.”

John blinked back tears. He reached out and cupped Alex’s face, stroking his cheek lovingly. 

“When I say that I hope to convince you that I love you, it is not to say I think you don’t already know that I do,” Alex said. “What I mean is that I truly believe you want every inch of my soul, imperfections and all, and I want to make sure you always know that I want every bit of you, too.”

“My Alexander,” John breathed. 

“Beautiful,” Hercules said, dabbing at his eyes. “Now, do you —”

“I’m not done yet,” Alex interrupted and John laughed fondly. 

“Oh, Jesus fucking Christ, of course you’re not,” Hercules huffed. “Okay, go on.”

“We do not have all day, Alexander,” Lafayette said warningly. 

“I’m almost done, I swear,” Alex said and John just laughed fondly again. “Okay, John, the most vivid memory I have from my childhood is from when I was ten years old and I was standing on the beach, the waves crashing into me, knocking me over, and I just kept struggling to my feet and screaming for my father to come back.”

“Alex —” 

“And I never thought I’d feel any more helpless than I did that day,” Alex talked over John who was looking concerned now and he didn’t dare look at anyone but John. “But then I met you. I met you and dear _god_ , I’ve never felt so helpless. I thought I’d never have you, I thought with my luck you’d be straight when all I wanted was you. But here you are and here I am. I am marrying you today. I am _marrying_ you. I didn’t believe in miracles until I met you. You’re my miracle. This is my miracle.”

John and Alex both looked up as James Madison blew his nose into a handkerchief and only then did they notice how many people were in tears. Eliza’s cheeks were glistening with tears and Lafayette was dabbing at his eyes frantically, trying to save the skilled makeup that his girlfriend had put on him. Washington, a man seemingly immune to crying, was swiping at his wet cheeks while his wife hugged his arms and laid her head down on his shoulder.  _ Aaron Burr  _ was blinking back tears. Even Thomas was smiling as he murmured, “Not bad, Hamilton, not bad.”

Hercules, choking back his own tears, looked to Alex and asked, “Are you done?”

Alex smiled, “Yes, I’m done.” 

“Great,” Hercules said. “So,” he smiled, “John Laurens, do you take Alexander Hamilton to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death parts you?”

“I do,” John beamed, threading his fingers through Alex’s and holding his hand tightly. 

“And do you, Alexander Hamilton, take John Laurens to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death parts you?” Hercules said to Alex. 

Alex matched John’s glowing smile, “I do.” 

“Yeah, you do!” Hercules grinned and all around the room people chuckled. “Okay, then, by the power vested in me through the Internet by a company that I  _ promise  _ is certified to do so, I now pronounce you husbands!” 

John and Alex grinned even wider.

“We’re married,” John whispered just because he could, just because it was real and crazy and  _ amazing.  _

__ “Are you going to kiss each other or what?” Hercules said. 

Alex grinned, “Oh, I most certainly am going to kiss you,” he said and he pulled John into a deep kiss. 

People cheered and everyone rose to their feet as they applauded — everyone except for Henry Laurens who still just sat there and looked pissed off but Alex didn’t mind. He couldn’t possibly care about a stupid thing like Henry Laurens not applauding his marriage because he was married to John. 

He was _ married  _ to _ John.  _ He was home. 

***

“I’m so fucking hungry,” John hissed. 

“The food will be done in a little while,” Alex laughed.

“Well, that’s stupid,” John pouted. “I’m hungry  _ now _ .” He huffed, then frowned, “Why is Thomas fucking Jefferson walking over here?”

Alex looked up. “Ew. I don’t know.”

“Hello,” Thomas greeted in an uncharacteristically cheery manner, “how are the newly weds?”

“Ew,” Alex said again. “What the fuck are you wearing?” he asked, eyeing Thomas’s freaking  _ magenta  _ suit.

“Hey, I’m not wearing that tie you always complain about,” Thomas crossed his arms, “so take what you can get, Hamilton.”

“Hamilton-Laurens,” John corrected with a smile.

“The only reason you’re not wearing that tie is because your wife hid it from you,” Alex rolled his eyes. 

“She did?” Thomas raised his eyebrows and scoffed. “That traitorous bitch!”

“Is there an actual reason you came over here to bother us or is it just fun for you?” Alex crossed his arms. 

“A little bit of both,” Thomas smirked and Alex rolled his eyes again. “Okay, but in all seriousness I just came over to congratulate the two of you. I was, truly, a very nice ceremony.”

“Oh, well,” Alex blinked, unsure of what to say to such a thing, “uh, thanks, Jefferson.”

John smiled, “Thank you, Thomas.”

“You’re welcome,” Thomas nodded. “You know this doesn’t mean we’re friends now, right?”

“Thank god,” Alex sighed in relief. 

“Good,” Thomas nodded. “Oh, by the way, who’s that guy over there who’s looked pissed off literally since he walked into the chapel?”

John turned a deep shade of red, “Oh. That’s my dad. It’s a — uh — it’s really complicated.”

“Ah,” Thomas said. “Well, good luck with whatever it is, I suppose,” and with that he set off to find Angelica.

“Speaking of my dad,” John whispered to Alex, “are you going to tell me how you got him here or what?”

“Okay, so, basically —” Alex dove into the whole tale of how he’d gone to Eliza’s house and the subject of Henry Laurens’s letter came up and how they’d gone and woken him up in the middle of the night. 

“Holy shit,” John said, eyes wide, “I can’t believe you did that. More than that, I can’t believe it worked.”

“Me neither,” Alex laughed. “Honestly, it almost didn’t.”

John smiled, “Thank you, Alex. Really, thank you so much. Even though he’s being a dick and he’s looked miserable all day and he hasn’t said a word to either of us,” he paused and sighed, “thank you. He’s still my dad and I still want him here, and it’s so great to have my brothers and sisters here.”

“Anything for you,” Alex leaned in and kissed him. “So what are their names? I met Martha on my midnight escapade, but not the rest of them.”

“The older boy,” John pointed to the taller boy, “is Junior and the younger one is James — but everyone calls him Jemmy. And then she,” he pointed to the youngest child who was sat beside Martha, talking with animated gestures of her hand, “is Mary Eleanor.” 

“They’re perfect,” Alex smiled. 

“Yeah,” John breathed. “Yeah, we were the perfect little family, you know?”

“John,” Alex frowned. 

“We were perfect until I went to college, until I told them I was gay,” John shook his head slowly. 

“John, I’m sorry, baby,” Alex held John’s hand tightly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have convinced him to come.” 

“No, no,” John reached out and cupped Alex’s face. “Alex, what you did for me —” he stopped abruptly, froze suddenly. His face paled and he let both of his hands slide away from Alex. 

Alex looked across the room and found that Henry Laurens was glaring across the room at the two of them. Alex looked back to his husband, “John, love, you don’t have to worry about what he thinks anymore.”

“I know,” John sighed. “Deep down I think I’m still that seventeen year old boy whose biggest fear was his father finding out he’s gay. Even though I don’t care what he thinks of me, a part of me is still so scared to let him see this side of me. The  _ real  _ side of me.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed. He reached out and held onto John’s hand again and John didn’t pull away. “Can I kiss you?”

John laughed, “Always.”

Alex leaned in, covered John’s mouth with his own and kissed him deeply. When he pulled away John was blushing as deeply as he had the first time Alex ever kissed him. 

“Don’t look at him,” Alex said as John began to turn his head to look at his father. “Okay? Just look at me, look right at me.”

John nodded slowly and leaned his forehead against Alex’s. “I love you so much.”

Alex smiled, “You’ve mentioned.”

“I’m never going to stop,” John grinned. “Not ever.” 

“Good,” Alex said and leaned in for another kiss. 

“Alexander Hamilton,” Lafayette snapped. “John Laurens.”

“Hamilton-Laurens,” Alex corrected. 

“Laurens-Hamilton,” John beamed. 

“Yes, great, how cute,” Lafayette glared. “Now why the  _ fuck  _ did you invite Aaron Burr?”

“Well, you know, he’s my friend,” Alex said. “Sort of. Kind of. Sometimes.”

“Yes, well, he is also my ex and he keeps trying to talk to me!” Lafayette growled. “And that is a little weird seeing as I am here with my girlfriend and all!”

“Well, go tell him that,” Alex huffed. “I am trying to enjoy my husband.”

Lafayette rolled his eyes dramatically before turning on his heel and storming off. 

Dinner was served soon and throughout the duration of their meal many more people came along to congratulate them — not that that stopped John from eating his food, of course. 

George and Martha Washington stopped by their table; James Madison, looking rather out of his element without his best friend by his side, told them it was a wonderful ceremony then quickly asked if they’d seen Thomas; Eliza sat with them for a while and went through nearly a full pack of tissues because every time she managed to stop crying she just started all over again; Peggy was  _ ecstatic,  _ telling Alex and John all about how the ceremony had been rather a mess what with Hercules forgetting what he was supposed to say and trying to be fake deep but she was so excited because she said they’d get to remember their “very  _ very  _ special” wedding ceremony forever; Aaron Burr stopped by, congratulated them quickly, then asked where Lafayette was.

“You know, I haven’t seen him recently,” John lied, “but one of my friends who I’ve only seen a couple times since college is here and she looks like she’s a little lonely. See her over there?”

“Oh, yes,” Aaron nodded. “I think I remember seeing her on campus at some point or another. Theodosia is her name, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” John nodded. “Go on, I think you two would really hit it off.”

“Well, okay,” Aaron said apprehensively. “If you say so,” he said and set off across the room. 

“There, that ought to keep him off of Laf’s ass for a while,” John said once Aaron was out of earshot. “And hey, maybe he’ll find a new best friend. Hell, maybe I just convinced him to go and meet his future wife.”

Alex shrugged, smiling fondly at John, “You never know,” he said and the two of them laughed together. 

“John,” the voice that spoke was sharp. 

John looked up and quickly stood. “Dad. I — thank you for coming. It really means a lot to me to have you here today, on my wedding day.”

“Hm,” Henry huffed out and it was clearly paining him not to point out to his son how opposed he was to the idea of this whole affair being called a wedding. “Well, we’re going to get going.”

John frowned, “Really? I was hoping I’d get to spend some time with Martha and Jemmy and Junior and Mary Eleanor after dinner. I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“Yes, well, whose fault is that?” Henry raised his eyebrows at his son.

John frowned and shrunk down while Alex leapt to his feet and scoffed, “Hey!”   


“Very well, not today,” Henry sighed. “Mary Eleanor is very tired and I need to get her to bed… Perhaps — perhaps you could visit us soon. Before the move.”

“Really?” John said hopefully. “I could really visit and spend time with — wait, what move?”

“Your brothers and sisters and I are moving back to South Carolina,” Henry said and Alex and John both frowned. 

“When?” John asked.

“In three months,” Henry told him.

“Oh,” John said. “Well, I’d love to visit...before you leave.”

Henry nodded. “We’ll work something out, I suppose. Goodbye, John. And goodbye….” he looked at Alex, thinking long and hard, trying remember what his name was.

“ _ Alexander, _ ” Alex reminded him sharply. 

“Right,” Henry nodded. “Well, goodbye, then,” he said, waving halfheartedly before setting off. 

“What a dick,” Alex shook his head slowly, looked at John, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, you’re right,” John sighed heavily. “He is a dick.”

“Let’s enjoy the rest of our dinner, the rest of our wedding,” Alex wrapped his arms around John. “Okay? Let’s go on our honeymoon next week and when we get back,  _ then  _ we can worry about your dad, okay?”

John smiled, “Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

After the final course of dinner had been taken away, the tables were moved so that they lined the walls and the floor was empty. 

Alex led John out onto the dance floor while Eliza spoke into the sound system, her voice projecting to the whole room through speakers, “For Alexander and John’s first dance as husbands, John’s best man and I have chosen their song. John, Alex, we hope you love it. Take it away.”

From the moment the trumpet began to play through the speakers, Alex and John both knew exactly what Lafayette and Eliza had chosen and it really was a very good choice. 

John pulled Alex closer to him and swayed gently to the instruments. John buried his face in the crook of Alex’s neck and inhaled, just taking him in, just taking all of his  _ husband  _ in. 

“Hold me close and hold me fast, the magical spell you cast, this is la vie en rose,” Alex sang along to the music softly in John’s ear. “When you kiss me heaven sighs, and though I close my eyes, I see la vie en rose.”

John lifted his head up and leaned pressed his forehead to Alex’s and they sang together, so softly that no one one but each other would hear them, “When you press me to your heart, I’m in a world apart, a world where roses bloom. And when you speak angels sings from above…”

Alex pulled John into a kiss, “...everyday words seem to turn into love songs,” he sang.

John smiled and pressed his forehead back to Alex’s, swaying in time with the beat and turning them slowly. “Give your heart and soul to me, and life will always be…” he held Alex —  _ his  _ Alex — a little bit closer, as close as he could get to him, “…la vie en rose.”

**John would be lying if he were to say that he wasn’t worried about what the future would hold, about what would go down between him and his father — he’d be lying if he were to say he wasn’t scared that he’d never get the chance to get to know his brothers and sisters — but for now, right now, he couldn’t be bothered by such things. Right now he had his husband pressed to his heart, and all he had to do right now was get lost in the music and get lost in his lover’s arms. **

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! The second in the series hopefully won't take as long as this one did to write but let's be honest, I'm a master procrastinator so it probably will. Hang tight, it's going to blow your mind!
> 
> Comments and and kudos are, of course, always appreciated! <3 :)
> 
> All the love xx


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